EP3460268A1 - Thrust bearing for a wind turbine - Google Patents
Thrust bearing for a wind turbine Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP3460268A1 EP3460268A1 EP17192103.4A EP17192103A EP3460268A1 EP 3460268 A1 EP3460268 A1 EP 3460268A1 EP 17192103 A EP17192103 A EP 17192103A EP 3460268 A1 EP3460268 A1 EP 3460268A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- thrust
- bearing
- thrust bearing
- pad
- longitudinal axis
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 229910000831 Steel Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 15
- 239000010959 steel Substances 0.000 claims description 15
- 229920001971 elastomer Polymers 0.000 claims description 11
- 239000000806 elastomer Substances 0.000 claims description 11
- 229920000642 polymer Polymers 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000013461 design Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 3
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000004026 adhesive bonding Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001010 compromised effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007850 degeneration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000835 fiber Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005096 rolling process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000844 transformation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000009466 transformation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001131 transforming effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
- F16C25/00—Bearings for exclusively rotary movement adjustable for wear or play
- F16C25/02—Sliding-contact bearings
- F16C25/04—Sliding-contact bearings self-adjusting
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03D—WIND MOTORS
- F03D80/00—Details, components or accessories not provided for in groups F03D1/00 - F03D17/00
- F03D80/70—Bearing or lubricating arrangements
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
- F16C17/00—Sliding-contact bearings for exclusively rotary movement
- F16C17/04—Sliding-contact bearings for exclusively rotary movement for axial load only
- F16C17/06—Sliding-contact bearings for exclusively rotary movement for axial load only with tiltably-supported segments, e.g. Michell bearings
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
- F16C17/00—Sliding-contact bearings for exclusively rotary movement
- F16C17/12—Sliding-contact bearings for exclusively rotary movement characterised by features not related to the direction of the load
- F16C17/24—Sliding-contact bearings for exclusively rotary movement characterised by features not related to the direction of the load with devices affected by abnormal or undesired positions, e.g. for preventing overheating, for safety
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
- F16C41/00—Other accessories, e.g. devices integrated in the bearing not relating to the bearing function as such
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
- F05B—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO WIND, SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS, TO MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS COVERED BY SUBCLASSES F03B, F03D AND F03G
- F05B2240/00—Components
- F05B2240/50—Bearings
- F05B2240/52—Axial thrust bearings
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
- F05B—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO WIND, SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS, TO MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS COVERED BY SUBCLASSES F03B, F03D AND F03G
- F05B2240/00—Components
- F05B2240/50—Bearings
- F05B2240/53—Hydrodynamic or hydrostatic bearings
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
- F16C2208/00—Plastics; Synthetic resins, e.g. rubbers
- F16C2208/20—Thermoplastic resins
- F16C2208/30—Fluoropolymers
- F16C2208/32—Polytetrafluorethylene [PTFE]
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
- F16C2300/00—Application independent of particular apparatuses
- F16C2300/10—Application independent of particular apparatuses related to size
- F16C2300/14—Large applications, e.g. bearings having an inner diameter exceeding 500 mm
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
- F16C2360/00—Engines or pumps
- F16C2360/31—Wind motors
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
- Y02E10/70—Wind energy
- Y02E10/72—Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a thrust bearing for a wind turbine.
- Another solution to the above problem is to enhance the serviceability of the roller bearings or ball bearings to a higher level.
- the structural integrity of ball or roller bearings is significantly compromised by any axial movement caused by axial thrust forces.
- serviceability of the roller bearings or ball bearings may be improved by completely or at least in part by absorbing such axial thrust forces.
- a common way of measuring the rotor thrust is by measuring the strain in the individual blade roots and transforming the measurement to collective rotor thrust.
- the strain measurement is typical performed using strain gauges or most recently fiber Bragg sensors.
- Another method is measuring strain on a main support structure on the turbine e.g. the main shaft.
- strain gauges need maintenance during the lifetime and for complex structures like the main shaft of a direct drive turbine the strain distribution is complex making the placement of the strain gauges and strain to thrust transformations a critical problem.
- a thrust bearing for a wind turbine comprising:
- This design enhances the serviceability of the main bearing (ball or roller or fluid bearing) to a higher level, with respect to known solutions, by allowing replacement without the use of a major crane (or jackup vessel) or even special tools installed in the turbine.
- a major crane or jackup vessel
- special tools installed in the turbine When the springs are worn or broken the wind turbine can continue to operate and the replacement can be done during a planned maintenance service.
- Each bearing pad may be removed, inspected and serviced individually and without moving the shaft to unload thrust bearing.
- any thrust force acting on the bearing pad results in a small axial movement until the equilibrium is reached between the thrust force and the opposite spring force in the spring element. This means that the thrust force can be measured by the deformation of the spring element.
- Measurement of a deformation for deriving the value of the thrust force is a much simpler and robust than measuring strain.
- the bearing pad comprises a low friction layer contacting the thrust surface of the thrust collar.
- this enable the low friction contact between the pad and the thrust collar, thus reducing wear.
- the bearing pad is preferably annularly shaped about the longitudinal axis of the thrust bearing.
- the bearing pad may be of another shape or may be not continuously distributed around the longitudinal axis of the thrust bearing.
- At least a portion of the bearing pad is tapered with respect to the pad seat.
- at least a portion of the bearing pad may have a conical section.
- this prevents locking of the bearing pad with respect to the pad seat.
- the bearing pad comprises a male element and a female element coupled to one another with backlash, the male element being inserted in a pocket of the female element allowing relative tilting between the male element and the female element about an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis.
- this permits correcting misalignment of the bearing pad with respect to the thrust collar and the longitudinal axis of the thrust bearing.
- the spring element comprises at least a steel or a polymer spring.
- the spring element comprises at least an helicoidal spring or a Belleville spring or an elastomer layer.
- Any type of spring element may be associated to a system for measuring the deformation for determining the thrust force acting on the thrust bearing.
- the elastomer layer is attached to a steel discs.
- the spring element includes a stack having a plurality of elastomer layers attached to respective steel discs.
- Each elastomer layer may be glued to the respective steel discs to improve adhesion.
- FIGS 1 to 4 show four respective embodiments of a thrust bearing 10 for a wind turbine, according to the present invention.
- the thrust bearing 10 comprises a thrust collar 11 rotatable around a longitudinal axis Y of the thrust bearing 10.
- the thrust collar 11 is a disc attached to a shaft 13 of the wind turbine.
- the shaft 13 extends longitudinally with respect to the longitudinal axis Y and is subject to rotate around the longitudinal axis Y.
- the thrust collar 11 comprises two main circular plane surfaces 12, 14, including a first thrust surface 12 for transferring a thrust force of the thrust bearing 10 to other components of the thrust bearing 10, as better detailed in the following, and a second opposite surface 14.
- the two main surfaces of the thrust collar 11 are transversally oriented with respect to the longitudinal axis Y.
- the two main circular plane surfaces 12, 14 may be radially oriented with respect to the longitudinal axis Y.
- the thrust bearing 10 further comprises:
- the bearing pad 30 is annularly shaped about the longitudinal axis Y of the thrust bearing 10.
- the thrust bearing 10 further comprises at least a spring element 40 is interposed between the bearing pad 30 and the support structure 20.
- the bearing pad 30 has a different shape.
- the bearing pad 30 provides transferring of a thrust force between the thrust collar 11 and the spring element 40.
- the pad seat 18 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the bearing pad 30 and allowing the bearing pad 30 to translate at least along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis Y.
- the spring element 40 On a side of the spring element 40 opposite to the bearing pad 30, the spring element 40 contacts a thrust plate 45, which is fixed to the support structure 20 by means of a plurality of screws 46.
- the spring element 40 is interposed between the bearing pad 30 and thrust plate 45, in such a way that the thrust force from the thrust collar 11 is transferred to the thrust plate 45 through the spring element 40.
- the thrust force causes the spring element 40 to deform.
- the thrust bearing 10 includes a system (not shown) for measuring such deformation and consequently calculating the thrust force acting on the thrust collar 11.
- the bearing pad 30, on a face contacting the thrust surface 12 of the thrust collar 11, comprises a low friction layer 35 for reducing friction caused by the contact between the bearing pad 30 and the thrust collar 11 and due to the rotation of the thrust collar 11.
- the pad seat 18 comprises a first portion 18a and a second portion 18b, longitudinally adjacent to each other.
- the first portion 18a has a first radial extension R1 while the second portion 18b has a second radial extension R2, greater than the first radial extension R1.
- the first portion 18a is adjacent to the thrust collar 11 while the second portion 18b is adjacent to the thrust plate 45 and houses the spring element 40.
- the bearing pad 30 comprises a first portion 30a coupled with the first portion 18a of the pad seat 18 and a second portion 30b coupled with the second portion 18b of the pad seat 18.
- the shoulder 18c between the first portion 18a and the second portion 18b of the pad seat 18 prevents the bearing pad 30 from exiting the pad seat 18 in the longitudinal direction towards the thrust collar 11.
- the shoulder 18c also allows preloading the spring element 40 when assembling it in the thrust bearing. If the spring element 40 is a too long it will be preloaded when bolting plate 45 to the support structure 20 with bolts 46.
- the bearing pad 30 comprises a male element 31 and a female element 32 coupled to one another with backlash for correcting misalignment of the bearing pad 30 with respect to the thrust collar 11 and to the longitudinal axis Y.
- the male element 31 includes a longitudinal protrusion 31a inserted in a pocket 33 of the female element 32 allowing relative tilting between the male element 31 and the female element 32 about an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis Y.
- the bearing pad 30 is oriented in such a way that the male element 31 contacts the thrust surface 12 of the thrust collar 11 and the female element 32 contacts the spring element 40.
- the second portion 30b of the bearing pad 30 is provided on the female element 32, which is coupled with both the first portion 18a and the second portion 18b of the pad seat 18.
- the bearing pad 30 is made of a single solid element, wherein both the first portion 30a and the second portion 30b extends in the longitudinal direction parallel to the respective first portion 18a and second portion 18b of the pad seat 18.
- the bearing pad 30 is made of a single solid element, wherein the first portion 30a extends in the longitudinal direction parallel but distanced to the respective first portion 18a of the pad seat 18.
- the second portion 30b is tapered with respect to the respective second portion 18b of the pad seat 18.
- second portion 30b is conical in the section view of Figure 3 .
- Such design of the bearing pad 30 prevents locking with respect to the pad seat 18.
- the spring element 40 comprises a plurality of elastomer layers 41 and a plurality of steel discs 42.
- Elastomer layers 41 and steel discs 42 are interposed to one another to create a stack where each elastomer layers 41 is interposed between two respective steel discs 42 or between a steel disc 42 and the bearing pad 30 or between a steel disc 42 and the thrust plate 45.
- Each elastomer layer 41 is attached by gluing to a respective steel disc 42 to improve adhesion.
- the bearing pad 30 includes a longitudinal protrusion 36 extending towards the thrust plate 45 but longitudinally distanced from the thrust plate 45.
- the spring element 40 includes a steel or a polymer spring housed in the pad seat 18 around the longitudinal protrusion 36 and active between a shoulder 37 of the bearing pad 30 and the thrust plate 45.
- the steel or polymer spring 40 in the embodiment of Figure 4 may be an helicoidal spring or a Belleville spring or another type of spring capable of transferring the thrust force from the thrust collar 11 to the thrust plate 45.
- a polymer spring may be preferred in some embodiments of the present invention considering that such type of spring yields a reaction force even in case of breakage, wear or slow degeneration.
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to a thrust bearing for a wind turbine.
- The increasing size of wind turbines and trend towards offshore turbines puts high demands on serviceability and robustness that the current rolling element bearing systems cannot provide. Also, due to fact that large wind turbines have large dynamic shaft deflections, high loads and low speeds makes it difficult for plain bearings to work and last in the demanded lifetime.
- Conventional wind turbine designs use conventional roller bearings or ball bearings for carrying the drive train, the generator on direct drive turbines and hub with blades require. When such conventional roller bearings or ball bearings have to be replaced, for example at the end of their life cycle, this can be performed only by disassembling the drive train, the generator and/or the hub with blade. These operations require the use of a costly crane capacity. Such costs are especially high for wind turbines located offshore, for which a jackup vessel has to be used.
- One solution to the above problem is the use of fluid bearings instead of roller bearings or ball bearings.
- Another solution to the above problem is to enhance the serviceability of the roller bearings or ball bearings to a higher level. In particular, it is known that the structural integrity of ball or roller bearings is significantly compromised by any axial movement caused by axial thrust forces.
- Therefore, serviceability of the roller bearings or ball bearings may be improved by completely or at least in part by absorbing such axial thrust forces.
- In addition, it is further important in wind turbines to know the value of such axial thrust force. Measurement of the thrust force on the wind turbine rotor provides a significant amount of information about the operational state of the turbine. The information can be used by the control system to reduce loading on main components e.g. tower, blades etc.
- A common way of measuring the rotor thrust is by measuring the strain in the individual blade roots and transforming the measurement to collective rotor thrust. The strain measurement is typical performed using strain gauges or most recently fiber Bragg sensors. Another method is measuring strain on a main support structure on the turbine e.g. the main shaft.
- The main issue with these approaches it that strain gauges need maintenance during the lifetime and for complex structures like the main shaft of a direct drive turbine the strain distribution is complex making the placement of the strain gauges and strain to thrust transformations a critical problem.
- It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a thrust bearing for a wind turbine, which absorbs the axial thrust forces, acting on ball or roller or fluid bearings, in order to enhance the serviceability of the wind turbine. It is desirable that the thrust bearing itself provides an enhanced level of serviceability by allowing easy maintenance and replacement of the thrust bearing.
- It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a thrust bearing for a wind turbine, which allows a simple robust and cheap method for measuring the thrust force acting on the thrust bearing.
- This need may be met by the subject matter according to the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are described by the dependent claims.
- According to the invention there is provided a thrust bearing for a wind turbine comprising:
- a thrust collar rotatable around a longitudinal axis of the thrust bearing and having a thrust surface transversally oriented with respect to longitudinal axis,
- a support structure fixed with respect to the longitudinal axis of the thrust bearing,
- a bearing pad contacting the thrust surface of the thrust collar and movable on a pad seat provided on the support structure,
- wherein at least a spring element is interposed between the bearing pad and the support structure.
- This design enhances the serviceability of the main bearing (ball or roller or fluid bearing) to a higher level, with respect to known solutions, by allowing replacement without the use of a major crane (or jackup vessel) or even special tools installed in the turbine. When the springs are worn or broken the wind turbine can continue to operate and the replacement can be done during a planned maintenance service. Each bearing pad may be removed, inspected and serviced individually and without moving the shaft to unload thrust bearing.
- Any thrust force acting on the bearing pad results in a small axial movement until the equilibrium is reached between the thrust force and the opposite spring force in the spring element. This means that the thrust force can be measured by the deformation of the spring element.
- Measurement of a deformation for deriving the value of the thrust force is a much simpler and robust than measuring strain.
- In embodiments of the present invention the bearing pad comprises a low friction layer contacting the thrust surface of the thrust collar.
- Advantageously, this enable the low friction contact between the pad and the thrust collar, thus reducing wear.
- In embodiments of the present invention, the bearing pad is preferably annularly shaped about the longitudinal axis of the thrust bearing.
- Alternatively, the bearing pad may be of another shape or may be not continuously distributed around the longitudinal axis of the thrust bearing.
- In embodiments of the present invention at least a portion of the bearing pad is tapered with respect to the pad seat. In particular, at least a portion of the bearing pad may have a conical section. Advantageously, this prevents locking of the bearing pad with respect to the pad seat.
- According to other embodiments of the invention, the bearing pad comprises a male element and a female element coupled to one another with backlash, the male element being inserted in a pocket of the female element allowing relative tilting between the male element and the female element about an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis. Advantageously, this permits correcting misalignment of the bearing pad with respect to the thrust collar and the longitudinal axis of the thrust bearing.
- According to embodiments of the invention, the spring element comprises at least a steel or a polymer spring. Particularly, the spring element comprises at least an helicoidal spring or a Belleville spring or an elastomer layer.
- Any type of spring element may be associated to a system for measuring the deformation for determining the thrust force acting on the thrust bearing.
- Particularly, according to embodiments of the present invention, the elastomer layer is attached to a steel discs.
- More particularly, according to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the spring element includes a stack having a plurality of elastomer layers attached to respective steel discs. Each elastomer layer may be glued to the respective steel discs to improve adhesion.
- The aspects defined above and further aspects of the present invention are apparent from the examples of embodiment to be described hereinafter and are explained with reference to the examples of embodiment. The invention will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to examples of embodiment but to which the invention is not limited.
-
- Figure 1
- shows a schematic sectional view of a first embodiment of thrust bearing for a wind turbine according to the present invention.
- Figure 2
- shows a schematic sectional view of a second embodiment of thrust bearing for a wind turbine according to the present invention.
- Figure 3
- shows a schematic sectional view of a third embodiment of thrust bearing for a wind turbine according to the present invention.
- Figure 4
- shows a schematic sectional view of a fourth embodiment of thrust bearing for a wind turbine according to the present invention.
- The illustrations in the drawings are schematic. It is noted that in different figures, similar or identical elements or features are provided with the same reference signs. In order to avoid unnecessary repetitions elements or features which have already been described with respect to an embodiment are not described again further in the description.
-
Figures 1 to 4 show four respective embodiments of athrust bearing 10 for a wind turbine, according to the present invention. Thethrust bearing 10 comprises athrust collar 11 rotatable around a longitudinal axis Y of thethrust bearing 10. Thethrust collar 11 is a disc attached to ashaft 13 of the wind turbine. Theshaft 13 extends longitudinally with respect to the longitudinal axis Y and is subject to rotate around the longitudinal axis Y. - In the following the terms "longitudinal", "radial" and "circumferential" are referred, when not differently specified, to the longitudinal axis Y of the
thrust bearing 10. - The
thrust collar 11 comprises two main circular plane surfaces 12, 14, including afirst thrust surface 12 for transferring a thrust force of the thrust bearing 10 to other components of thethrust bearing 10, as better detailed in the following, and a secondopposite surface 14. The two main surfaces of thethrust collar 11 are transversally oriented with respect to the longitudinal axis Y. In particular, the two main circular plane surfaces 12, 14 may be radially oriented with respect to the longitudinal axis Y. - The
thrust bearing 10 further comprises: - a
support structure 20 fixed with respect to the longitudinal axis Y of thethrust bearing 10, and - a
bearing pad 30 contacting thethrust surface 12 of thethrust collar 11 and movable on apad seat 18 provided on thesupport structure 20. - The
bearing pad 30 is annularly shaped about the longitudinal axis Y of thethrust bearing 10. - The
thrust bearing 10 further comprises at least aspring element 40 is interposed between the bearingpad 30 and thesupport structure 20. - According to other embodiments of the present invention (not shown) the
bearing pad 30 has a different shape. In all the embodiments of the present invention thebearing pad 30 provides transferring of a thrust force between thethrust collar 11 and thespring element 40. - The
pad seat 18 has a shape corresponding to the shape of thebearing pad 30 and allowing thebearing pad 30 to translate at least along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis Y. - On a side of the
spring element 40 opposite to thebearing pad 30, thespring element 40 contacts athrust plate 45, which is fixed to thesupport structure 20 by means of a plurality ofscrews 46. - The
spring element 40 is interposed between the bearingpad 30 and thrustplate 45, in such a way that the thrust force from thethrust collar 11 is transferred to thethrust plate 45 through thespring element 40. - The thrust force causes the
spring element 40 to deform. Thethrust bearing 10 includes a system (not shown) for measuring such deformation and consequently calculating the thrust force acting on thethrust collar 11. - The
bearing pad 30, on a face contacting thethrust surface 12 of thethrust collar 11, comprises alow friction layer 35 for reducing friction caused by the contact between the bearingpad 30 and thethrust collar 11 and due to the rotation of thethrust collar 11. - With reference to the embodiments of
Figures 1 to 3 , thepad seat 18 comprises afirst portion 18a and asecond portion 18b, longitudinally adjacent to each other. Thefirst portion 18a has a first radial extension R1 while thesecond portion 18b has a second radial extension R2, greater than the first radial extension R1. Thefirst portion 18a is adjacent to thethrust collar 11 while thesecond portion 18b is adjacent to thethrust plate 45 and houses thespring element 40. - Consequently, the
bearing pad 30 comprises afirst portion 30a coupled with thefirst portion 18a of thepad seat 18 and asecond portion 30b coupled with thesecond portion 18b of thepad seat 18. Theshoulder 18c between thefirst portion 18a and thesecond portion 18b of thepad seat 18 prevents thebearing pad 30 from exiting thepad seat 18 in the longitudinal direction towards thethrust collar 11. - The
shoulder 18c also allows preloading thespring element 40 when assembling it in the thrust bearing. If thespring element 40 is a too long it will be preloaded when boltingplate 45 to thesupport structure 20 withbolts 46. - With specific reference to the embodiment of
Figure 1 , thebearing pad 30 comprises amale element 31 and afemale element 32 coupled to one another with backlash for correcting misalignment of thebearing pad 30 with respect to thethrust collar 11 and to the longitudinal axis Y. - The
male element 31 includes alongitudinal protrusion 31a inserted in apocket 33 of thefemale element 32 allowing relative tilting between themale element 31 and thefemale element 32 about an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis Y. - The
bearing pad 30 is oriented in such a way that themale element 31 contacts thethrust surface 12 of thethrust collar 11 and thefemale element 32 contacts thespring element 40. Thesecond portion 30b of thebearing pad 30 is provided on thefemale element 32, which is coupled with both thefirst portion 18a and thesecond portion 18b of thepad seat 18. - With specific reference to the embodiment of
Figure 2 , thebearing pad 30 is made of a single solid element, wherein both thefirst portion 30a and thesecond portion 30b extends in the longitudinal direction parallel to the respectivefirst portion 18a andsecond portion 18b of thepad seat 18. - With specific reference to the embodiment of
Figure 3 , thebearing pad 30 is made of a single solid element, wherein thefirst portion 30a extends in the longitudinal direction parallel but distanced to the respectivefirst portion 18a of thepad seat 18. Thesecond portion 30b is tapered with respect to the respectivesecond portion 18b of thepad seat 18. In particular,second portion 30b is conical in the section view ofFigure 3 . Such design of thebearing pad 30 prevents locking with respect to thepad seat 18. - In the embodiments of
Figures 1 to 3 thespring element 40 comprises a plurality of elastomer layers 41 and a plurality ofsteel discs 42. Elastomer layers 41 andsteel discs 42 are interposed to one another to create a stack where each elastomer layers 41 is interposed between tworespective steel discs 42 or between asteel disc 42 and thebearing pad 30 or between asteel disc 42 and thethrust plate 45. - Each elastomer layer 41 is attached by gluing to a
respective steel disc 42 to improve adhesion. - In the embodiment of
Figure 4 , thebearing pad 30 includes alongitudinal protrusion 36 extending towards thethrust plate 45 but longitudinally distanced from thethrust plate 45. Thespring element 40 includes a steel or a polymer spring housed in thepad seat 18 around thelongitudinal protrusion 36 and active between ashoulder 37 of thebearing pad 30 and thethrust plate 45. - The steel or
polymer spring 40 in the embodiment ofFigure 4 may be an helicoidal spring or a Belleville spring or another type of spring capable of transferring the thrust force from thethrust collar 11 to thethrust plate 45. - A polymer spring may be preferred in some embodiments of the present invention considering that such type of spring yields a reaction force even in case of breakage, wear or slow degeneration.
- It should be noted that the term "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps and the use of articles "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. Also, elements described in association with different embodiments may be combined. It should also be noted that reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.
Claims (14)
- A thrust bearing (10) for a wind turbine comprising:a thrust collar (11) rotatable around a longitudinal axis (Y) of the thrust bearing (10) and having a thrust surface (12) transversally oriented with respect to longitudinal axis (Y),a support structure (20) fixed with respect to the longitudinal axis (Y) of the thrust bearing (10),a bearing pad (30) contacting the thrust surface (12) of the thrust collar (11) and movable on a pad seat (18) provided on the support structure (20),wherein at least a spring element (40) is interposed between the bearing pad (30) and the support structure (20).
- The thrust bearing (10) of claim 1, wherein the bearing pad (30) comprises a low friction layer (35) contacting the thrust surface (12) of the thrust collar (11).
- The thrust bearing (10) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the bearing pad (30) is annularly shaped about the longitudinal axis (Y) of the thrust bearing (10).
- The thrust bearing (10) of any of the previous claims, wherein at least a portion of the bearing pad (30) is tapered with respect to the pad seat (18) for preventing locking of the bearing pad (30) with respect to the pad seat (18).
- The thrust bearing (10) of claim 4, wherein the at least a portion of the bearing pad (30) has a conical section.
- The thrust bearing (10) of any of the previous claims, wherein the bearing pad (30) comprises a male element (31) and a female element (32) coupled to one another with backlash, the male element (31) being inserted in a pocket (33) of the female element (32) allowing relative tilting between the male element (31) and the female element (32) about an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis (Y).
- The thrust bearing (10) of claim 6, wherein the male element (31) contacts the thrust surface (12) of the thrust collar (11) and the female element (32) contacts the spring element (40).
- The thrust bearing (10) of any of the previous claims, wherein the spring element (40) comprises at least a steel or a polymer spring.
- The thrust bearing (10) of claim 8, wherein the spring element (40) comprises at least a helicoidal spring or a Belleville spring.
- The thrust bearing (10) of any of the previous claims, wherein the spring element (40) comprises at least an elastomer layer (41).
- The thrust bearing (10) of claim 10, wherein the elastomer layer (41) is attached to a steel disc (42).
- The thrust bearing (10) of claim 11, wherein the spring element (40) comprises a stack of a plurality of elastomer layers (41) attached to respective steel discs (42).
- The thrust bearing (10) of any of the previous claims, further including a system for measuring the deformation of the spring element (40).
- The thrust bearing (10) of claim 13, further including a system for measuring the deformation of the spring element (40) for calculating the thrust force acting on the thrust collar (11).
Priority Applications (5)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP17192103.4A EP3460268B1 (en) | 2017-09-20 | 2017-09-20 | Thrust bearing for a wind turbine |
DK17192103.4T DK3460268T3 (en) | 2017-09-20 | 2017-09-20 | Axial bearing for a wind turbine |
ES17192103T ES2836226T3 (en) | 2017-09-20 | 2017-09-20 | Thrust bearing for a wind turbine |
US16/132,553 US10612586B2 (en) | 2017-09-20 | 2018-09-17 | Thrust bearing for a wind turbine |
CN201811101656.7A CN109519346B (en) | 2017-09-20 | 2018-09-20 | Thrust bearing for a wind turbine |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP17192103.4A EP3460268B1 (en) | 2017-09-20 | 2017-09-20 | Thrust bearing for a wind turbine |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP3460268A1 true EP3460268A1 (en) | 2019-03-27 |
EP3460268B1 EP3460268B1 (en) | 2020-10-28 |
Family
ID=59923315
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP17192103.4A Active EP3460268B1 (en) | 2017-09-20 | 2017-09-20 | Thrust bearing for a wind turbine |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US10612586B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP3460268B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN109519346B (en) |
DK (1) | DK3460268T3 (en) |
ES (1) | ES2836226T3 (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN112815003A (en) * | 2021-03-31 | 2021-05-18 | 东方电气集团东方电机有限公司 | Rotating shaft supporting structure, bearing device and wind power generation equipment |
US11248590B2 (en) | 2019-05-16 | 2022-02-15 | Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S | Bearing arrangement for a wind turbine and wind turbine |
US11428213B2 (en) | 2019-05-16 | 2022-08-30 | Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S | Bearing arrangement for a wind turbine and wind turbine |
US11927176B2 (en) | 2019-09-16 | 2024-03-12 | Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S | Bearing arrangement for a wind turbine and wind turbine |
Families Citing this family (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP3460269A1 (en) * | 2017-09-20 | 2019-03-27 | Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S | Fluid film bearing for a wind turbine |
DE102017126829B4 (en) * | 2017-11-15 | 2019-10-10 | Voith Patent Gmbh | Axial bearing for a shaft, in particular for the shaft of a hydraulic machine |
AT521775B1 (en) | 2018-12-13 | 2020-06-15 | Miba Gleitlager Austria Gmbh | Planetary gear for a wind turbine |
AT521885B1 (en) * | 2018-12-13 | 2020-09-15 | Miba Gleitlager Austria Gmbh | Gondola for a wind turbine |
AT521884B1 (en) | 2018-12-13 | 2020-10-15 | Miba Gleitlager Austria Gmbh | Method for changing a slide bearing element of a rotor bearing of a wind turbine, as well as a nacelle for a wind turbine |
DK4043743T3 (en) * | 2021-02-12 | 2023-11-20 | Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy As | BEARING FOR A WINDMILL, WINDMILL COMPRISING A BEARING, AND METHOD OF MAKING A BEARING |
JP2022157529A (en) * | 2021-03-31 | 2022-10-14 | 三菱重工業株式会社 | fluid film bearing |
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- 2017-09-20 DK DK17192103.4T patent/DK3460268T3/en active
- 2017-09-20 EP EP17192103.4A patent/EP3460268B1/en active Active
- 2017-09-20 ES ES17192103T patent/ES2836226T3/en active Active
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- 2018-09-20 CN CN201811101656.7A patent/CN109519346B/en active Active
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DE2514723A1 (en) * | 1974-04-12 | 1975-10-23 | Jerome Greene | HYDRODYNAMIC BEARING |
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US11248590B2 (en) | 2019-05-16 | 2022-02-15 | Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S | Bearing arrangement for a wind turbine and wind turbine |
US11428213B2 (en) | 2019-05-16 | 2022-08-30 | Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S | Bearing arrangement for a wind turbine and wind turbine |
US11927176B2 (en) | 2019-09-16 | 2024-03-12 | Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S | Bearing arrangement for a wind turbine and wind turbine |
CN112815003A (en) * | 2021-03-31 | 2021-05-18 | 东方电气集团东方电机有限公司 | Rotating shaft supporting structure, bearing device and wind power generation equipment |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
ES2836226T3 (en) | 2021-06-24 |
US10612586B2 (en) | 2020-04-07 |
US20190085831A1 (en) | 2019-03-21 |
DK3460268T3 (en) | 2020-11-23 |
CN109519346A (en) | 2019-03-26 |
CN109519346B (en) | 2021-12-14 |
EP3460268B1 (en) | 2020-10-28 |
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